Got Your Back
by dabbling
Summary: Goren & Eames use their excellent people skills to battle the office politics and help out Logan. Dr. Huang from SVU shows up, too.
1. Chapter 1

Got Your Back

Chapter 1

Bobby sat on the park bench, observing the interactions of the children. He caught the flustered glances of the nannies and mothers, and was glad they were being diligent. He knew he looked suspicious; a grown man with no kids, watching the children's playground. He couldn't help it today. After that last case, he needed to get out, see some kids…just being kids.

One of the kids fell off the monkey bars and cried out in pain. The nanny was there right away, soothing him, but he cried even more loudly. Bobby saw the boy's arm was broken, and he stepped in. The nannies closed around him like a gang defending their turf.

Bobby smiled and showed them his badge. "It's okay," he said. "I was just going to call in for help. It might get here faster if I do it."

They all looked relieved and he made the call. Then he stayed close until the bus showed up. Several of the nannies gave him their thanks, and one or two were a little flirty about it. Bobby shyly accepted their comments and went back to his bench. The accident had disrupted the innocence of the childrens' play, and they were leaving, one by one. He looked at his watch. It was almost time for lunch.

Bobby knew not to expect a call from Alex today. The case had hit her hard, as well, and she would be spending the day with her nephew. She'd invited him along, but he always felt like that was… too much, too close, too invasive. He couldn't just "borrow" a family for a day.

Detective Goren headed out of the park and back to his own neighborhood. He was surprised when he ducked into the little diner to find Mike Logan there. Logan was off duty today, too: for a while, actually. He had earned himself another administrative leave, thanks to being an outspoken advocate for their last victim: an 8 year old boy who'd been killed by his 12 year old sister.

Right now, Goren thought of Mike Logan with the highest regard. He cheerfully walked up and joined him at the table. "Logan!" he greeted him.

"About time you showed up," Logan said. "I've been waiting around all morning."

Goren slid into the booth across from him. "You could have called," he said. Mike shrugged and Bobby waited for him to fill him in. "It's all right," Logan said. "I like their coffee."

A waitress came around and Bobby ordered a grilled turkey sandwich with a diet coke. He turned his attention back to Logan.

"They're playing pretty tough this time," he said quietly. "The commissioner's pretty hot about it."

"You did right, Logan. I would have done the same."

"Thing is, I don't even know if I care anymore. Maybe it's time I should quit."

Bobby knew the feeling. The job was outrageously tough, what with the hours and the danger and just the horrible things they had to see. Not to mention the horrible people they had to meet. And then there was the paperwork.

He wasn't sure what Logan wanted from him. Was he looking for commiseration, or someone to light the fire in him again? "What would you do?" he asked, buying himself some more time to figure it out.

"I've been thinking about P.I. work. The whole 'being your own boss' thing is looking better and better."

Goren nodded, and sat back out of the way when they brought his sandwich. "Look, Logan… I know where you're coming from… and all I can say is… when you quit, there's one less voice out there for the victims."

Mike sat up taller. It was the nicest thing Goren had ever said to him, and he hadn't expected it. "Some kid will step up, take my place," he said, shrugging off the compliment.

"I don't wanna work with a squad full of kids," Goren said. "There's something to be said for a seasoned detective." Bobby took a bite of his sandwich.

"They're coming in all the time, anyway," Mike said. "They all look at us like we're old school, like the only tools we're comfortable with are fists and phone books."

Goren took another bite and then tilted his head, thinking. "When do you go before the review board?"

"Thursday morning."

Goren rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. Then he looked at Logan with a spark in his eye.

* * *

Alex Eames was finally feeling human again. It took a while this time, but the love and laughter of family had finally replaced the creepy horror that had eaten her up during this case. Nate was playing in the sandbox, pouring sand over a buried green dump truck.

"Grow, little truck, grow." He looked at his mother. "Mommy, I growed the truck."

Liz giggled. "You growed the truck? You mean like a flower?"

Nate nodded and poured more sand on top. Alex chuckled, and went into the house to help herself to another hard cider. Her cell phone rang, and she looked at the name in the display window.

"Hi Bobby," she said. She listened, and then agreed. "Yeah, give me another hour or so. Where?" She smiled watching her nephew. "Okay, see you later." She hung up the phone.

* * *

Bobby's apartment was as messy as it ever gets. There were 5 dishes waiting in the sink to be washed. Logan sat at the table, talking baseball with Goren. When the bell rang, Goren checked through the peephole, then let Eames in.

She was surprised to see Logan there, but entered and offered him a beer out of the 6-pack she carried. Bobby took one as well. They all sat at the table together and Alex cracked her own beer open.

"Logan's got to go before the review board on Thursday," Goren explained. "I have a plan."

* * *

Eames knocked on Captain Ross's door. He was surprised to see her, but let her in. She shut the door behind her.

"I thought I gave you some time off. Maybe you don't need it?" It was half-hopeful, half-threatening.

"I need to talk to you, Captain. It's about Logan."

He offered her a chair and she sat down across the desk from him. "This whole thing is shaping up to be a witch hunt. He may quit this time. He's seriously thinking about it."

Ross was surprised to have Eames here telling him this, but he wasn't surprised that Logan might quit. Mike was getting the short end of the stick. "Logan's the one who gets himself into these messes. I don't know what you expect me to do about it."

She frowned and nodded. "I know Logan runs his mouth a little too much. But this time…"

"Eames, look. Even if I do happen to agree with you _this time, _my hands are tied. Because of Logan's history…"

"He needs somebody to back him up."

Ross closed his mouth and frowned at her.

"Just bring in an expert to talk to the Board. Bring in Goren."

Ross tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Goren?"

"I know you have your issues with Bobby, but he is our best profiler. He could talk to the board about the case, give them the background they need to see that Logan was right."

"They're already bringing in Dr. Huang."

It was Eames' turn to be surprised.

"Since it involved children, and he works with SVU so much…"

Eames sat quietly and waited.

"All right, Eames. I'll set it up. You tell Goren to be ready to shine."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bobby's apartment became their HQ. Eames brought over her laptop and a small printer that had a scanner on top. Goren had gone to the office and brought back all the photos and documents he thought they might need. He and Logan were going through them.

It was almost like working at 1PP, except here, they could drink. Each one of them had some kind of alcoholic beverage. Logan had stocked the place with beer, wine coolers, and hard cider.

"Okay, I'm up and running," Alex said.

"Let's start with the pic of the victim. This one, his school picture." He held it up for her and she scanned it in and entered it into the slideshow program. "Now this," Bobby said. The next picture was gruesome. It was the child's post-mortem crime scene photo. All three detectives were silent as they entered that one in.

"We need to show them the girl, too," said Mike. "They already think they know everything about her." He held up a couple of photos of her.

"Not that one, it was plastered all over the news," said Bobby, rejecting her school picture. "We need one… that… hints at her darker side." He and Mike dug through the photographs for a few minutes, and Mike came up with a family photo. The girl's smile was off: wicked looking, even.

Goren handed it to Eames to scan. "This one of Eva," he said.

Alex spoke up. "You know, if I can show Mike how to scan, then you and I can work on adding text to this." She looked at Bobby. "What are you going to say, anyway?"

He shook his head. "The pictures can tell the story."

* * *

Dr. George Huang was spending his day reading psychological reports on Eva Schwartz. From the medical/psychological perspective, she was fascinating. From a human perspective, she was frightening. He read with interest, taking notes as he went.

* * *

By mid-afternoon, they had a 30 page slide show ready. Logan and Eames left, leaving Bobby to study the slides and figure out what he would say.

"I'll give you a ride home," Eames said.

The day's work had made the mood morose. Logan looked over at Eames. "Thanks," he said. It was more than just a presentation they were creating for him. There was an emotional toll to this, as well.

Eames gave him a quick glance, then focused on the traffic. "You're a good cop, Mike. And you were right." She smiled. "You'd do the same for us."

After a few moments silence, Mike spoke again. "She'll do it again. And it will only get worse."

Eames nodded, and pulled over to drop him off. "I'll call you later." He stepped out of the car. She called his name, and he bent down. She rolled the passenger window down with the click of a button. "I forgot to tell you. Huang's going to come speak to them, too."

He waved goodbye and the window went back up as she drove away.

* * *

Alex had left her laptop at Bobby's so he could review the slide show and do his work. He clicked through picture after gruesome picture, pausing at each one. He took note of the most minute details in each picture. His thoughts grew darker and darker as he worked.

The beer was almost gone, and Bobby decided to take a break. He left the apartment and went for a long walk. The sun had already gone down, and the sidewalks were radiating heat upwards, keeping the city warm and muggy. Sweat dripped from his brow and fell like rain on the sidewalk.

He was lost in his thoughts, paying no attention to time or even place. He realized he was out of breath, and stopped. Looking around, he had found his way to a cemetery. Slowly, Bobby stepped through the gate and stepped carefully around the plots, looking from stone to stone, reading and imagining the lives and fates of people he never knew.

He could hear them calling to him, begging him for help. He could feel their restless spirits swarming around him. He closed his eyes and sat down on a stump. Thankfully, his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket and answered it, hands shaking.

"Goren," he said with a tremor in his voice.

"Bobby, where are you?" Alex asked. "I came back to your place and…"

"I don't know," he said, and looked around, blinking. "Uhm, I… uhm… went for a walk." His voice trailed off and he cleared his throat.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I… uh… I'll come back. I'll be right there," he said. He stood up, ended the call, and walked quickly back the way he had come.

She was inside, waiting for him. They'd done the spare key thing years ago. When he entered, she could see the darkness in his face, and knew she had been right to worry. "Hey."

"Uhm… sorry," he mumbled. "I went out… I… had to get out."

"I get that," she said. She gave his arm a rub as he passed by, and fixed him a glass of water. "How's the project coming?"

He nodded. "I'm ready."

They sat down together and listened as the noises from the city streets drifted in from outside.

"Eames," he said at last, "You ever think… that it's too big? Too much, too many victims…"

She reached out and took his hand in hers, her thumb smoothing his skin back and forth. "Yeah. I do." The silence returned for a moment. "And then I think about how many we've saved… and I figure it's worth it."

After a while, they called Logan to let him know they were ready for tomorrow's meeting.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Logan didn't look nervous; he never did at these things any more. Truth be told, he hadn't been able to eat breakfast, his stomach was so tight. He kept sharp eyes and a sincere look on his face.

His personnel folder was already on the table. It had grown to about 2 ½ inches thick in the last 10 years. Mike and Captain Ross took a seat at the table. The Captain hadn't said more than two words to him, and he really wasn't sure where the guy stood. Mike figured he was on his side, but with Ross you never could tell.

Goren was being briefed by the technician on how to use the remote to operate the computer for the slide show. He was listening carefully, but he had already accidentally closed the file once and now seemed to be unable to figure out how to start it. Finally, she had talked him through it and he was ready. She explained that she could only stick around the first half an hour or so to help, but then she had other commitments. He sat down on the other side of Captain Ross, and within arm's reach of the laptop.

Within minutes, the commissioner and his crew had taken their seats. The room grew quiet and he spoke. "Well, Detective Logan, here we are again," he said unhappily. Logan said nothing. "I hope we can get to the bottom of this before lunch." He turned to the captain. "Captain Ross, a formal complaint has been filed against Detective Mike Logan by the parents of one Eva Schwartz, convicted in the homicide of her younger brother. What have you to say?"

"Commissioner, I have read both the complaint and the reports of my detectives. I do not believe the complaint holds any merit. I believe Detective Logan should be restored to duty immediately." He sat down.

Logan was grateful to the Captain, but he didn't even give him a look in response to his words. He kept his eyes on the Commissioner and his cronies.

"Commissioner," said a representative from the DA's office. "Given Detective Logan's long history of complaints and general trouble-making, we believe it is necessary to thoroughly explore the events in this case to determine if Detective Logan is able to properly represent the City of New York in the execution of his duties as an officer of the law."

The Commissioner's face soured again. He looked at Ross. "Okay, then. Captain Ross, I understand you have someone you'd like to have speak to the Board?"

"Yes, sir, I've brought with me Detective Robert Goren. He was the one of the lead detectives on this case, and he is New York City's foremost criminal profiler." Ross looked at Goren, who stood up, remote in hand.

"Thank you, Commissioner, for giving me the opportunity to present to the Board." Bobby clicked a button and the first slide came up, but it was too small to see. The technician swooped in and fixed it, then gave him a reminder of which button to push to advance the slides.

"Sorry about that," Bobby said. He looked at the screen, which displayed the latest school picture of the victim. "This is Robbie Schwartz. It's his elementary school picture. He turned 8 years old last March."

He advanced the slide and the reaction in the room was palpable. "This is Robbie Schwartz, on June 18th, the day he was killed." He let them look at the picture a few moments. "You notice, he had his school ball cap on the shelf behind him. He liked to play baseball."

He advanced the slide, to the relief of the suits in the room who never had to get so involved with the more gruesome aspects of their jobs anymore. The family picture had been cropped to show a closer view of Eva, with her twisted smile. "This is Eva Schwartz, 12 years old. This picture was taken last Christmas." He let them look for a moment and then went on. "She… killed her brother… with a butcher knife from the kitchen drawer. The parents were… in the house… down in the basement, watching tv." He clicked and the slides reversed to show the death photo of Robbie again.

He pretended it had been an accident, apologized, and advanced the slide again. "When we arrived, Eva's parents reported that Eva had told them a stranger had invaded the house from the street, that Robbie had tried to stop him, and he'd stabbed Robbie, and run away."

"Eva had tucked the murder weapon behind a loose piece of baseboard near the hall, so we didn't find it right away. Eva and her parents said the blood on her clothes was from her actions to try and save Robbie's life after the stabbing occurred." Bobby showed a picture of where they found the knife.

"When the M.E. determined that the murder weapon was a kitchen knife, we searched the house again, and found it. There were no prints: it had been wiped clean."

Bobby continued, through slide after slide, and explained how the investigation unfolded.

"There were only 2 hesitation marks on Robbie's body." He clicked to show a close-up of those marks. "Eva almost immediately became comfortable with the amount of pressure needed to penetrate her little brother's skin. In fact, she pushed so hard in some places that the knife actually exited out his back."

"Eva has a history of behavioral problems. Her parents didn't reveal this to us: we found out when we went to her school. They had reported incidences of violence with other students on several occasions. They had documented specific threats she'd made against others in the school environment, violent stories she'd written, etc." Bobby changed the slide to reveal a school incident report. "Eva stated she was going to cut B.D.'s fingers off, one at a time, and then use them like markers to draw pictures with the blood."

Again, Bobby noticed some of his audience recoil. "We finally were able to prove Eva's guilt via a fingerprint on the loose baseboard, in combination with the blood spatter on her clothing and her confession. When she confessed, she said she killed him 'because he wouldn't give her the controller' for the video game."

Bobby put a graph on the screen. "As Captain Ross said, I am a profiler. These are the statistics in the US currently for homicides perpetrated by youth under the age of 14." The graph indicated that hardly any crimes were committed by this age group. He clicked and a new graph popped up. "These are the statistics for homicides where the offender is female." Again, the number of females was extremely low compared to male offenders.

He clicked again, "These are homicides and weapons used." The line that showed knives as the murder weapon was very low on the graph. Handguns were at the top.

"As you can see, Eva Schwartz is an anomaly. Everything about her: her age, gender, choice of weapon, age of victim… _everything_ goes against the odds."

Bobby went on to explain the statistics on child offenders becoming adult offenders, as well as the progression from less to more violent crimes.

"It is my belief that Eva Schwartz is likely to kill again, is likely to kill many times in her lifetime, and needs extensive psychiatric treatment in addition to incarceration in order to keep the public safe."

Goren cleared his throat. "As I understand it, that's exactly what Detective Logan said, only he said it within earshot of her parents."

Bobby clicked the slide and the school picture with Robbie's innocent smile returned. "As cops, it's our job to protect the public. We couldn't protect him." He jerked a thumb at the screen. "In reducing crime, the whole point is to be proactive, to create a community where people are safe, are looking out for each other, where we take steps to prevent crime from happening. All too often, we're reactive. We lock up the perp, end of story." Bobby looked each person in the room in the eye and continued. "Reactive policing does nothing to reduce crime and improve public safety. Reactive policing makes good cops ask, why bother?"

Bobby pointed to the picture of Robby, and couldn't help but raise his voice as we spoke. "This is why we bother. This kid, this little boy, deserved the chance to grow up, to play ball, to have a first kiss, a first car. We're too late for him... but we're not too late for the rest of them."

Bobby, in his flustered way, nervously fidgeted his way back to his seat, mumbling "thank you." He left the picture of Robbie Schwartz on the screen.

The room was silent for a moment until the commissioner spoke again. "Thank you, Detective Goren… I think we'll take a break for…" he checked his watch. "let's say, 20 minutes. Everyone return here at 10:30."

Goren, Logan, and Ross went out into the hall together. Ross continued down the hall, but Mike and Bobby stopped. Mike shook Bobby's hand. Eames came over to them. "How'd it go?" she asked.

"It was good," Mike answered. "Powerful."

Bobby held out his hand and showed her the remote from the projector. "I guess I'll have to put this into inter-office mail," he said slyly. He slipped it into his pocket.

"You okay?" Alex asked Mike. "Can I get you something?"

He shook his head. "I'll just find some water. Thanks." He went off down the hall.

Alex looked back at Bobby, with one eyebrow raised in a question. "I'm staying here," Bobby answered. "I'm sticking with Logan. Besides, I want to hear what George has to say."

She frowned and nodded. "I'll be right here, waiting," she said.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Everyone had returned to their seats. Mike sat behind a barely touched bottle of water and rubbed his hands on his pants. The Commissioner leaned forward. "Thank you all for returning promptly. I believe the DA's office has a guest they'd like to introduce?"

The attorney from the DA's office smiled and said, "Yes, we have asked Dr. George Huang to review this case and give us his comments as well."

"Thank you." Dr. Huang had no fancy slide show, but he did have copies of his notes and the little girl's evaluations in front of him. "I had the opportunity to review Ms. Schwartz's psychiatric records, and I have a few comments to make."

He cleared his throat. This was a new venue for him. He'd been an expert witness in court rooms, and sat on panels with his colleagues, but he had never been asked to go before the Commissioner of Police before. He was a little nervous. "Ms. Schwartz was first seen by a psychiatrist at the age of 9. Her parents reported aberrant behavior from the age of three, but did not realize that it was significant until her diagnosis 3 years ago. In addition, her school records indicate that she exhibited extreme behavior problems since enrolling in Kindergarten. Her parents did not support her placement in Special Education programs, because they felt her behavior was insignificant and something she would 'grow out of.'"

"At 9 years old, the Psychiatrist recommended both medical and drug therapy. Her parents refused drug therapy, but she did attend therapy sessions with a licensed counselor for about 8 weeks. During this time, the school reported no change in either the frequency or the severity of her behavioral outbursts."

"Our department Psychiatrists re-evaluated her during the course of this investigation, and found her to have schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, and oppositional-defiant disorder. Again, it has been recommended that she receive both drug and traditional therapy as treatment, regardless of the outcome of her trial."

George lost his place in his notes and took a moment to scan down the page. "The school teacher reported that: Once Eva has done something wrong; in her mind that seems to be all she needs to grant permission to herself to do it again. For example," he read, "she climbed on top of a low bookshelf in a defiant act one day. Even though staff coaxed her down and debriefed with her afterwards about the safety risks involved with her behavior, the next day, she climbed on top of a tall file cabinet."

"Her teacher also reports that she is a risk-taker, physically, and that she seems to have no remorse when she has hurt someone else."

He looked up at the Commissioner. "I am unaware of the details of the complaint against Detective Logan," he said. "As I understand it, he made a comment regarding Eva's incarceration and subsequent treatment." No one disagreed, so he continued. "I believe that without appropriate treatment by licensed professionals, Eva is a danger to society."

The Commissioner thanked George. He turned his attention to the group. "Dr. Huang, you are excused. If I could ask Detectives Goren and Logan to leave the room, please? We will call you back in shortly."

The three men stood and walked stiffly out of the room. Ross actually gave Logan an encouraging smile as he walked by.

Eames looked up with anticipation. Goren and Logan were chatting with Dr. Huang amiably. She walked over. "Hello, George," she said.

"Alex!" he said, and gave her a hug. "It's good to see you."

"So things went well?" she asked.

Logan shrugged. "Who knows? They're talking about me now."

Goren punched him lightly on the lapel. "It'll be fine. Dr. Huang came to the same conclusion I did. It'll be fine."

Mike shrugged again.

"Well, I have to go," said George, checking his watch. "Not enough time in the day, you know."

They said their goodbyes and he left.

Ross came out and waved the Detectives back in. Eames gave them an encouraging thumbs up.

Mike sat down and took a tiny sip of his water. The Commissioner spoke. "Detective Logan, I have read your report of your actions. I would like to say a few words to you before we close this review."

Mike sat up straighter.

"Detective Logan, it appears that your remarks in this instance were not off base, discriminatory, or offensive in nature. However, due to your lack of discretion, your remarks were overheard, misconstrued, and resulted in negative publicity for the City of New York. I have asked your Captain to issue a formal reprimand in your file. I will, however, restore you to full status as a Detective in Major Case."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Logan," the Commissioner added, "the next time you feel the need to run your mouth…" His eyes bore into Logan's. "Think. Think first. That's all I'm asking."

"This concludes the Board Review of Detective Mike Logan. Captain Ross, I need to speak with you a moment."

Goren and Logan filed out of the room together. Logan held up his hands. "I don't think that slap on the wrist left any marks," he smiled.

Goren clapped him on the shoulder and walked him over to Eames. They told her what happened. In spite of things, Logan was still on edge.

Ross walked up, and they turned toward him. "I guess you have a reprimand to dish out," said Mike.

Ross looked sternly at Logan. "I'll tell you just what I told the Commissioner: _I'll _decide who gets a reprimand in _my_ house. Report at 8 tomorrow morning. I'll have your badge for you." With that, the Captain left.

Mike was shocked. Goren and Eames grinned from ear to ear.

* * *

Logan and Goren sat together in the bleacher seats at Yankee Stadium. They were decked out in Yankee shirts and hats. Goren was giddy with excitement. The vendor walked by and Mike grabbed him. "Two beers and two dogs," he said, and pulled out his wallet to pay for them. Mike handed Goren his meal and sat down beside him again.

As the batter knocked one into right field, Goren got quiet. He looked over at Logan, who seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. Logan raised his glass. "To Robbie," he said.

"To Robbie," Goren said, and they drank one for the little boy who loved baseball.

THE END


End file.
